Anchors and anchoring

The kettlebell was delivered today, and as I thought, it's going to be perfect as a chum/buddy/sentinel/kellet (how did so many names arise?). The handle is smooth and easy to grip to lift over the stemhead, as I'd expect for an item that is intended to be swung around (its origin as a cannonball with added handle is very apparent). It's well painted, so rust will not be an issue. The neoprene casing is thick, solid and tough, and will stand being thrown into the chain locker. I think probably the best thing to attach it to the rode is a http://www.gsproducts.co.uk/stainless-steel-winch-hook/ , lashed on.edited by David Tyler on 2/13/2018

Hi David, I believe your chum (sentinel/kellet) will solve (or at least make less likely and easier to resolve) the problem you refer to. I have all chain on the bower, but a stern anchor or a second anchor off the bow often can get into mischief in just the way you describe and a kellet has always made a difference. For what it is worth (in other words “no scientific evidence” just an observation) I try to position the kellet just longer than the distance along the rode as the water is deep. In that way if the rode goes slack, the kellet sinks to the bottom and keeps the rode fixed in place until the wind/current stretches it out again. I always also have the kellet adjustable/retrievable from the deck. I have a slick “slide” I found in a fire sale decades ago, but a snatch block works just as well. In a mid-night fire drill with the boat bouncing around, you do not want a heavy weight needing anything fancy or difficult to separate from the rode You might check the actual immersion weight of the chum you are referring to as iron is also less dense than lead. Also, iron will rust quickly and the expansion will get inside the neoprene cover and (I suspect) you will have a messy gross difficult-to-store, piece of gear in short order. My larger kellet is a handful of lead dive weights with a long ss eyebolt passed through the weight’s belt slot. It is surprising how often these end up in marine flee markets where they can be bought inexpensively. Let us know how things work out. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

When I anchor Weaverbird in a tideway, at the turn of the tide the anchor rode (short chain plus 12mm nylon) has an annoying habit of getting caught around one of the bilge keels. This means that she lies athwart the tide, and puts a great deal more load on the anchor.So, I thought, I need a chum. But looking around the UK online chandlers, all I could find was a Buddy at Jimmy Green, a snip at £158.40 !!!So, I thought, there has to be something cheaper than that, surely.So I looked at weight training apparatus, and found that there is such a thing as a kettlebell, which looks darned near perfect for the job. It comes in many different weights, and I think I'm going to get one at 8Kg. This one is cast iron, with a neoprene casing as well, which may be kinder to the boat. There are also models made of cement, which are probably not worth considering as the density of cement is not so much greater than seawater.Initial thought on deployment is that I'll lead the nylon rode through the loop permanently, and secure a 3 metre line to the loop, with a soft eye that I can drop onto a foredeck cleat.

Hi David, Agreed. For those of us who anchor regularly and sometimes in marginal conditions, these anchors are a very impressive leap in vessel and personnel safety even with a few rarely encountered glitches (now becoming more predictable). Steve 's experiments are fascinating and may prove the way to go. Early days yet, but I am sure there are those out there getting the drill bits out: and hopefully reporting to the various streams of info.My best, Dick

Dick, Even after this one failure, I have to say that the Rocna is whole lot more reliable than the Delta I used to use, and I 'm with you and Alex that the modern generation of scoop anchors represents a great leap forward in anchor design. There 's just this one flaw to address, and I was very interested in Steve 's and the Sarca designer 's findings that the addition of perforations to the fluke will cause the clod of mud to be shrugged off. Now I 'm wondering if I should bring the anchor ashore and put it under the drill...

Hi David, Thanks for your report and sorry you had a re-set problem. Those on the Attainable Adventures web site who have Rocna 's report the intention of raising anchor and cleaning their anchor to ensure a good stick after a wind shift. Please see the web site (20$/year, but very valuable for a wealth of issues and info from seasoned cruisers) for discussions/comments from Rocna owners. And, yes, Steve deserves a big round of applause for his creative evaluation of anchors. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

I can add another report: A couple of weeks ago, I dragged my Rocna anchor, in light winds but at the turn of the tide (in the Irish Sea, noted for its big tides). The bottom was sticky mud, and I 'm used to my Rocna coming up with a big clod of such sea bottom attached. I 'd never have thought of this as the reason for the unreliable reset, and I 'm very grateful for having it explained and demonstrated so well by Steve, SV Panope.

Hi Simon,Thanks for your report. I am sorry you had a re-set problem, although it sounds isolated and under extreme conditions. Still unsettling though.There appears to be some conjecture at this early-days attempt at understanding, that the scoop aspects of the new generation anchors accumulates seabed which unbalances the anchor so as to make it more difficult for the tip to penetrate when re-setting in a significant wind shift. Those of us with new gen anchors are aware of how much seabed comes up with the anchor when weighed and how stuck this seabed becomes (and how much work it is to clean). When the anchor goes down clean, these anchors are a marvel.The Spade anchor seems to be less compromised by this tendency, probably as it has a far higher weight in the tip in the form of a lead insert and therefore is less susceptible to the unbalancing caused by a build-up of mud weight.My best to all, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

I thought I had posted it here but it must have been somewhere else. I can report that we encountered this same re-setting problem with our Manson Sumpreme this summer in extreme conditions. The point being that the issue is not confined to the Rocna but, as one would expect, common to other scoop designs.Simon

Hi Alex,My take on your comments pertaining to the individual who is primary on the ACC site, OCC member John Harries, is that any relationship with Spade anchors plays no part in the concerns he writes about. I have followed his writings for years and have never found his judgments to be influenced in the way you describe and I find the implication of personal bias and implied vendetta (“driven” rather than he is responding to accumulated data) uncomfortable to hear, especially as it reflects on me as having brought it to the membership’s attention. The anecdotal concerns were brought to a head by the Panope video I cited and he referred to. Alex, have you read the thread I referred to on ACC where these concerns are addressed and responded to by a large number of experienced cruisers and where first hand reports of re-setting failures by Rocna are described? Or looked at the videos compiled over the years by the Panope site? You did not report doing so in your recent comments I would be interested in your take as you are quite experienced in this area and far better read on the various tests conducted. Most tests I am familiar with have so many limitations as to make them almost useless (or misleading): the Panope videos being the exception as they show the anchors in action.I report this to the membership as a warning that is documented in places I trust: not to start a disagreement. Everyone should evaluate all the data available in their choice of anchors. I agree with you as I also believe that cruisers should have one of the new generation anchors. They are just far superior. A Rocna, even with this emerging proclivity, is still far better anchor than a CQR or Delta or Bruce. But there is accumulating evidence that, for some new generation anchors, that re-setting is compromised in just the way that Steve/Panope has documented so well on his videos of anchors and their actual behavior on the seabed as well as the ACC site. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

DickIf I am not mistaken, that thread is being driven by an individual, who is by his own admission sponsored by a different scoop type anchor manufacturer.Whereas some of the things he professes are valid, others are pure conjecture.

The bottom line is that the Rocna, Ultra, Spade, Supreme, Mantus, and the other scoop type anchors, with and without roll bars, have been proven time and time again in properly conducted impartial tests, to set, hold and veer exceptionally well. Our own experience with them has borne this out. Yes, we have received free anchors from several manufacturers to take out cruising, and yes we have found slight variations in their performance, but we cannot state that this is not a result of how we deploy them. And no, we have not been sponsored by any manufacturer.

In our opinion, every serious cruiser would be advised to carry a scoop type anchor as their primary (bower).

Hi Daria and Alex,I just bumped into your aforementioned article and very much enjoyed hearing some of the history of anchors, their evolution over time and the cast of characters that spent time (and probably lots of it) evolving them.Thanks, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Before going to the Deep South, I exchanged my 60lb (27kg) CQR for an oversized 40kg Rocna (this for a 20 ton 49 ft yacht). It changed my life. With the CQR I had to re-lay about 1 in 4 times and, except in settled and windless conditions, I didn 't sleep too well having had the CQR drag on several occasions (and by most standards I use a lot of scope when room allows). I must have layed the Rocna over 200 times and have only had to re-lay on about 3 occasions. I have anchored in kelp, on rock and in soft, soft mud. Even in winds in excess of 55 knots (www.blog.mailasail.com/mina2/277) it has not dragged once (yet).

There are drawbacks however:1. You have to motor back on to it to set it GENTLY. The Rocna digs in so quickly and abruptly that otherwise you are in danger of pulling the windlass out of the deck.2. You need a really powerful windlass to bring it up as it often reappears with an additional 40kg of mud attached to it (for which the best solution is an ordinary gardeners dutch hoe on a stick, which is also the best tool, if sharpened, for slicing kelp off the anchor chain).

We are pleased to announce that our book Happy Hooking. The Art of Anchoring is now available for Kindle on amazon.com worldwide. The print edition is the bestselling anchoring book on amazon.com. There is a full post of our press release on the OCC Forum 'for sale ' page.

Daria,I think the error message relates to the email notification of your posting. No idea why the email failed but the post is fine.

I have updated your list of anchors and added you as an editor so, by clicking the view report link, it should take you to your google account log on. If you then log on you should be able to see the report in real time. Let me know if it doesn 't work for you.

I have also added in Bill 's suggestions.

I 'll post the link on Facebook and perhaps put it in a more prominent part of the Forum? do forward it to Dick and Colin for wider publication if you wish.